There is SO MUCH TO KNOW when teaching pitching..........I hope you can extrapolate what you need from this post........I'm a little tired this evening..........
Something I've often referred to as a fatal flaw in the pitching motion..........Is when the "hook" (bend) in the arm faces the opposing shoulder vs. forward as the arm approaches up and over the top of the circle.........
When this occurs..........It is PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE to complete a circle without correction mid-swing.........The upper arm (humerus) then has NO CHOICE but to externally very late in the circle (over the top) to relieve the stress in the shoulder joint.........And as the upper arm externally rotates at the top to relieve the pressure, a pause actually occurs in the circle at the top to allow for the bio-mechanical correction.........
Lets take a look at Jill's fatal flaw which actually starts in the upswing.........She properly faces the ball inward on the way up the circle..........However.........As she passes 3:00 in front of her, and approaches the top, she never externally rotates her shoulder to move the arm/ball from facing inward to facing the down then forward toward the catcher BEFORE her upper arm passes her head...........As a result........You can actually see a pause in the circle during the correction over the top, which is costing her dearly........And could even result in injury later on.........
So where do we START looking for CAUSES of the of the fatal flaw...........START WITH THE LEGS........And the timing of the drive leg.............
Let's take a look at someone else who starts JUST LIKE JILL, ball inward, but is able to turn the ball down/forward (E/R's her upper arm/shoulder) BEFORE the critical moment of no return so she can continue the circle un-interupted by any corrective movement..........
Notice how much earlier KN opens her pelvis compared to Jill........Because by 3:00 in front of her with her arms, her lead leg is fully extended, pelvis fully open, and her throwing shoulder is way behind her glove shoulder by 12:00. This is a result of her pelvis opening way earlier in the motion from proper leg drive timing.......And her shoulders are seeking alignment with the open pelvis much earlier........BEFORE the top.............Resulting in early external rotation of the upper arm/shoulder BEFORE the arm gets to 12:00..........
When the pelvis and shoulders are opening as late as Jill's, and the arm is externally rotating this late, it will continue to do so until the hand is on top of the ball..........It has to to relieve the stress..........
Jill's pelvis is OPENING because it HAS TO, to assist the shoulder in stress relief. KN's pelvis is opening because it WANTS TO to get everything ready and aligned for the move over the top........This is CRITICAL to get right.......
Notice KN's elbow is already behind the ball as Jill's is correcting? Notice Jill's pelvis and shoulders opening while KN's are already there...........
So start with fixing the timing of the leg drive........Arms and lead leg go out TOGETHER.........Extended at 3:00 in front..........Get the pelvis open.........Get the shoulders open.........Get that arm in position hooked forward BEFORE it reaches her head...........
Very awesome detailed explanation BoardMember, but I'm confused about how closed KN's hips are at release. It seems this is how it should be to and the most natural, but pitching open is stressed so much.